Petition for OBC

To the kind attention of:

Mr Ugo Rossi, President, Provincia Autonoma di Trento

For information:

Ms Sara Ferrari, Head, International Cooperation Dept.,

Provincia Autonoma di Trento

Mr President,

As we learn from the media, Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso (OBC) will soon face a drastic restructuring.

We believe that, through its multifaceted work of information, analysis and awareness raising, OBC represents, in Italy, a unique example of organization effectively linking together civil society, institutions, citizens and regions in a much needed dialogue over Europe.

For 15 years, OBC has been monitoring the EU Enlargement process towards South East Europe and Turkey, and the Neighbourhood Policy in the Caucasus, namely in those European flashpoints still marked by political instability or armed conflicts, such as Kosovo or Ukraine, through a professional network of correspondents, journalists, scholars, activists.

Engaged in the building of wide partnerships, both on a local and international level, OBC is stimulating public discussions on burning issues such as freedom of the media, democratic development in the European space and human rights overall.

Italy is interlinked with these regions from an economic, energetic and environmental perspective, as through migrations. Half of the immigrants arriving to Italy, in fact, come from Eastern Europe, Italy exports more to the Balkans than to China, and the Caucasus is fundamental for the diversification of energy sources.

Political interdependence is also growing at an ever faster pace, as some of the countries that OBC monitors are EU Member States while others are on their way towards Brussels.

OBC has always confronted these issues combining information, education, research and policy advice with high professional standards, as acknowledged by the European institutions, the Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs and many cultural and economic bodies that have been supporting this organization.

Besides its prestige, OBC has a proven record of fund-raising, namely through European programmes, that has had a positive impact on employment.

Although being established as a think-tank on a European level, in fact, OBC has always been able to keep a strong link with the Italian and Trentino-Alto Adige civil society, where it remains rooted.

One of the reasons of the OBC success is the ongoing support by the Provincia autonoma di Trento, a local government able to strongly advocate the role of regions in building the Europe of the future, solid and democratic.

We are writing to you, Mr President, asking you not to interrupt the Provincia investment on Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso. In such a delicate moment for our Continent, we need to relaunch the European project starting from the grass-roots, fostering local knowledge and resources.

An organization such as OBC, capable of creating bridges between institutions and civil society, between academic knowledge and public opinion, will be able to continue offering its valuable contribution thanks to your staunch support.

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